Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has called for a decisive strike to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities in the wake of Tehran's massive rocket barrage against Israel.
"We must act now to destroy Iran's nuclear program, its central energy facilities and fatally cripple this terrorist regime," Bennett wrote on X just hours after the attack on Israel.
"We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralyzed, Iran is at risk," Bennett wrote.
In a separate statement, main Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Iran must pay a "significant and heavy price" for the attack.
"Tehran knows Israel is coming. The response must be firm and send an unequivocal message to the terrorist axis in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and in Iran itself," said Lapid, who was briefly prime minister in 2022.
Iran has been accused of trying to develop atomic weapons, although the Islamic Republic insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
It is widely known that Israel has nuclear weapons but has never admitted it.
The attack was Iran's second direct strike on Israel after a missile and drone strike in April in response to a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
Bennett took power after the 2021 elections and led a broad political coalition, but managed to stay in office for only one year. | BGNES
